CHAPTER TWENTY
The new day dawned hot and dry. Not even from his past could Gray Falcon recall a day so heated—especially at a time when the sun was still little more than a mixture of pink, blue and gray sunbeams thrown up onto the eastern horizon. And, although a man might cool himself by means of an eagle-feather fan, he also never complained, since even these hot days of summer were a creation given to the people by Sun, the Creator.
All three men—himself, Eagle Heart and Strikes Fast—had returned from their morning prayers, and, having accomplished a shower beneath the cold rush of the waterfall, they had decided to call a council together before the real heat of the day had fallen upon the land. Soon the council would begin; there was a golden eagle circling overhead, and its presence there foretold of many good deeds to come.
With the women and his wife's mother and father happily secured in their own temporary lodges, Gray Falcon had requested and had been granted the use of the private lodge of Strikes Fast for this council. Though the rocky ledge beneath them was hard and uncomfortable, their robes, spread out beneath them, acted like cushions. Luckily, the sides of the little hut allowed an occasional spray from the waterfall to make its way into the small wickiup, providing a little reprieve from the blistering temperature outside.
The council began as always with the passing of the pipe and a declaration from all three, pledging that only true words would be spoken in the council. As soon as all had smoked upon the pipe, Gray Falcon officially began the council, stating, "Maká'pato'si, the evil-spirited one, has come into our country for one purpose, and we know what this is. From the moment I first learned of this man, I knew this day would come. And, knowing the confrontation would arrive at some future time, I have given the problem much consideration. I tell you this now: this man will never go away until he gets what he wants…or until we have defeated him. Therefore, we must defeat him. My wife's life, her father's and her mother's lives, rest upon the three of us using our skills to end this man's destruction of their family."
Gray Falcon glanced briefly at Eagle Heart, and said, "I fear even your wife will be affected in a bad way if we do not act to put an end to this man's hostilities."
Eagle Heart nodded.
"I have prayed about my wife's troubles and have asked the Creator to provide me with the knowledge and the skills needed to bring an end to the evil one's cruelty. I fear there is no other way to do this but to confront this treacherous, evil man, and to do it face-to-face. The happiness and security of our women depend upon this. And, since the man has now brought his war into our country, we must confront him before he is allowed to harm more of our people.
"Furthermore," continued Gray Falcon, "running away from this evil one, Maká'pato'si, has accomplished nothing. My wife, her mother and even her father have tried to evade this man, and still he comes after them."
Strikes Fast was the first to respond, and he said, "Your words are wise, and I agree with you. But, how are we to end Maká'pato'si's power?"
"I will tell you how we might do it," said Gray Falcon, "but from now until the end of our talk, I believe our council should be conducted using the mind speak only. In this way, outside of our wives, who might become aware of what we 'say,' our plans will remain unknown to the others here."
Both Eagle Heart and Strikes Fast agreed. And, it was Eagle Heart who asked in the silent communication, "My friend, you have mentioned you have a plan. May we hear it?"
"Indeed, you shall, but first let me tell you my observations of this evil one, for, although I have never seen him, I have witnessed the harm he has brought to others. And, I think by this we may know much about him."
Both Eagle Heart and Strikes Fast nodded.
"Further," continued Gray Falcon, "the Creator has shown me that this man is a deceiver and a thief, for he obtained our father-in-law's possessions by means of a game of chance, being well aware that our father-in-law was drunk on whiskey and out of his right mind. Then, when the agreements between our wives' father and this evil one, Maká'pato'si, were put onto the white man's paper, the evil one lied again, because he did not include all of what he and our father-in-law had agreed upon.
"Therefore," continued Gray Falcon, "it is easy to know this: Maká'pato'si is not to be trusted—not to his word, his writings nor any of his doings. By his harmful actions, we can know he obtains life's necessities by lying and stealing from others."
Eagle Heart nodded. "Agreed," he acknowledged silently. "Let me add this to what you say: we have in our possession the papers our mother-in-law brought with her, and before any of us journey to Fort McKenzie, we should bring our wives into this council. We must look at the papers from our mother-in-law. I believe it is in this way we might come to know how this evil man's mind works. If I am right, this knowledge could prove to be valuable to us."
Gray Falcon inclined his head once, then, in a mix of words and the silent mind-talk, he said, "Hánnia,I do not read the white man's words as well as you, but perhaps if we ask our wives to say them to us aloud and explain what is contained in them, we might understand what has happened to bring about the ruin of our family. Our wives' opinions on the entire affair would also be welcome."
Then, continuing in the medicine man's silent talk, Gray Falcon said further, "It is also in my mind to ask our women to put our own requirements of Maká'pato'si onto the white man's paper. The Creator has instructed me to do this because we might be able to bring Maká'pato'si down by doing this."
"This is wise," responded Eagle Heart. "Perhaps we could use the evil man's weaknesses to bring about his downfall."
"Indeed, we shall, for this is what the Creator has shown me: a game of chance can bring him down. And, since he is a gambler, we ought to use this against him."
"It is a good idea," replied Strikes Fast silently. "We could utilize our own games to force the evil one's weaknesses out into the open, and, thus, cause him to fall from power."
"Áa.But," began Gray Falcon in the mind communication, "if we do this, there must be a way to keep Maká'pato'si from cheating. Perhaps, my friend"—Gray Falcon looked directly at Strikes Fast—"you might accompany me, and this could be your duty once we attain entrance into the fort: to keep Maká'pato'si honest. In this way, if I can challenge the evil one into gambling, I would have a better chance of winning—but only if he can be kept honest."
"I am honored to do as you ask," spoke Strikes Fast in the silent talk.
"Soka'pii," Gray Falcon answered aloud. Then, silently he continued, saying, "Let me tell you more about what I have seen in my visions concerning this man. Because we who hunt can observe and know many things about the animals we track, in a similar way, we can know the future this man has planned. And, knowing this, we can perhaps use this to thwart what he intends. I say this: from the tracks the evil one has left, we know he has cheated, using the white man's papers, to get what he wants; this includes my wife. And, knowing this, we might ask: would he do it again? I will answer this question: of course he would."
Both Strikes Fast and Eagle Heart nodded.
"Also," resumed Gray Falcon, "I would not expect any of the white men at Fort McKenzie to deal out justice to this man, even if it comes to be obvious he is cheating. Within my memory are images of the pale-faced traders favoring their own race in arguments, as well as in trade. And, this is done regardless of the facts in a matter. One does not have to remember into the long ago past to recall these happenings. Even in this recent trading season, I witnessed my uncle being cheated by two men at Fort McKenzie. Do you not remember? For two pelts, the white trader gave the white man two credits at the company store, yet for three tanned pelts, my uncle received only one credit at the store, and for all three of the skins. Even when my uncle showed his pelts were better tanned and so were worth more than the deerskin of the white man, no action was taken to right the wrong.
"So it is, upon remembering and considering all this," persisted Gray Falcon, "it would be unwise to expect the white man to punish one of his own for any wrongdoing or cheating. Therefore, it would strengthen our position if we could ask many warriors to be a part of the party that goes into the fort. They will be there to witness whether this man cheats or not."
Eagle Heart nodded before he added, "Your words on this matter are wise and well thought out, my friend. Indeed, we do not have to look far to see the damage done to both our father-in-law and to your wife. I am remembering this: the evil one gave his oath to obtain your wife's willingness before there would be any talk of marriage. Instead of keeping hold of his honor, the evil one forced our father-in-law to place a mark upon a piece of the white man's paper that did not include this promise. That our wives' father did not protect himself nor his family from this man's treachery is not the point. The fact is, you are right to say this evil one uses only deception and lies to make his way in life. Therefore, he will do it again to us if he is not forced to be honest."
Gray Falcon, as well as Strikes Fast, nodded.
